Hey everyone!! My name is Claire and I have just started doing the 140 hours TEFL course and I am really motivated and excited about teaching english aboard!!!
Just womdered if anyone could give me any advice as to the best place to go for your first TEFL job??
I have thought about going to france, spain, italy, japan or thailand or maybe doing an internship.
Any advice would be great!!
Thanks!!
Claire xxx

There is no one "best" place. After all "best" is subjective and what's best for one person may be another person's idea of hell. Just as I have no interest in teaching in China, I'm sure many out there wouldn't give Poland a second thought.

Start by looking at whether you meet the requirements of your preferred country/countries, e.g., passport, visa, degree, qualifications, experience, health, clean criminal record, etc. After that you can look at more personal reasons, e.g., manageable language, type of teaching (kids, adults, Business English...), specific location, weather, culture, etc. Of course, you might do all this only to pick a country on a whim! I had my heart set on Spain but have ended up teaching in Vietnam, Portugal and Poland and I don't regret any of them!  :)

So, if you want to go to Western Europe, especially France or Italy, you are likely to need a CELTA or a CertTESOL, or some significant experience. You should probably think about focusing your travelling urges elsewhere for your first job if you are doing an online course :)

Thanks for the message, it was really useful. I have thought a lot about where I want to teach aboard, but there are so options just need figure out I idea which country is best for me. I have a BA degree in Studies in Education and would like to teach primary school age children preferrably. I like the idea of teaching in westetn Europe as it is close to home, but I would like to teach in either Thailand, because I love elephants and the beaches or Japan, because of experiencing the amazing culture there. I would also consider TEfLing in Africa, as I would like to make a difference. I have thought about doing an internship at Thailand first would anyone recommend this and what is the difference between this and a placement job from the i to i placement service? Any advice would be great! Thanks, Claire xxx

I'm sorry, I didn't see this reply! I'm not certain, but I think with the placement, they just act as recruiters (ie, the schools pay them to find teachers), but with the internships they provide support in country in return for your money. Any recruiter will be there for you to a certain extent, but basically once you get the job unless there is a major problem, that's their bit done. I have been in touch with my recruiter once since I was settled in, and that was to see if he could find me another job, 11 months later.

Hi mahalath... i your recruiter footprints? ive been having serious problems getting in touch with them after having my documents accepted... still no telephone interview and its been 2 weeks

No, I didn't go with them. It's a pain they've got your documents! I would go through another company at this point if I were you. I think I emailed them at the beginning of my job search and never got a reply. I replied to your post on my wall before I saw this.